


It's a Skin on Skin Thing

by Impala_Chick



Series: Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Pining, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Spooning, Surprise Intimacy, Touch-Starved, Touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 15:49:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Steve gets in a little over his head when he starts to miss Tony's touch.





	It's a Skin on Skin Thing

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second of five parts in the "Lose your mind and Come to Your Senses" series, all focused on Steve's senses in relation to a certain Avenger. The name of the series is a quote from Frederick Salomon Perls. After an Age of Ultron rewatch, I got the idea to put together a series exploring Steve and Tony's relationship before everything got more complicated. First part was about "taste" and this one is about "touch."

Before going into the ice, Steve was not used to regular skin on skin contact. His mother hadn’t been afraid to hug him, but that was about his only experience with gentle touch growing up. Sometimes, on calm nights during the war, Peggy would reach over and take his hand until both of their palms started to sweat. But usually, touch came in the form of violence. 

Steve’s skin had been trained to deflect from touch, to avoid it. Probably because Steve could remember being cornered in back alleys, tensed and waiting for fists to strike his gut or his face; or running through the tree line in theater, doing his best to deflect bullets before they grazed his arms or struck his teammates. Even after the serum, knowing that he had a much higher pain threshold than before, Steve’s skin had seemingly thrummed with dread when he was around groups of people. Most of the time he anticipated some form of contact when around others, but he didn’t welcome it.

Which had been a problem when Steve first met Tony, considering the fact that Tony was really touchy. Whether they were working or just spending time in the tower, Tony couldn’t seem to help himself. 

During SHIELD briefings, Tony would walk around the room because the man could not sit still, and he would put his hand gently on Steve’s shoulder when he agreed with something Steve said. When Tony was hosting a party at the tower, he’d invariably ask if he could make Steve a drink, and then bodily steer him to the bar by grabbing Steve’s arm. When the team was huddling up just before a mission, Tony would gently elbow Steve in the ribs when he cracked a joke and wait for Steve to react, which would usually result in Steve either laughing or rolling his eyes.

Steve had caught on real quick to Tony’s brand of flirting and had been relieved to find out that Tony wasn’t opposed to taking their relationship in a much more physical direction. Sometimes Steve still rebuffed Tony’s touch, like when he was caught off guard or when he was in an argument, tensed for a fight. But lucky for Steve, it wasn’t in Tony’s DNA to give up.

Now that Steve lived in the compound, and Tony was hardly around, Steve was surprised to find that he missed Tony’s touch. 

Not only did he miss it, he craved it.

After a long work out, when he’d destroyed the heavy bag and was dripping in sweat, he would walk back to his room and unconsciously clasp his left elbow with his right arm, just to feel the heat of flushed skin against his fingertips.

During briefings, he would cross his arms over his chest after saying something particularly clever, and he’d be disappointed when Tony wasn’t there to grip his shoulder and offer him a knowing smile.

Sometimes Steve would catch himself patting Natasha’s shoulder at the end of a long day instructing the rookies, and she would shoot him a look that was a mix between “what the hell” and “oh, you poor lonely thing.”

Steve noticed Tony’s absence most at night, in his room at the compound. Steve would lay awake and wish that he could reach out and touch Tony. It wasn’t that he and Tony had shared a bed all that often at the tower. In fact, it would have been abnormal for Tony to stay in Steve’s room. That only happened on particularly special occasions, like when they had long weekends off.

But still, Steve couldn’t help but lay awake and think about all the times they _had_ shared a bed. Tony would sometimes sit up on his elbow to watch Steve and run his fingertips over Steve’s ribs. Other times, Tony would ask Steve to hold him. Steve would put his chest up against Tony’s back, skin to skin. Tony would sigh and lean back against Steve, and pull Steve’s arm across his chest. Steve’s skin would heat up at the contact, but Tony seemed so content that Steve wouldn’t move until Tony fell asleep. Lucky for Steve, he didn’t need that much sleep to be fully functional.

Steve figured he’d get used to Tony’s absence, just as he had been acclimated to no touch at all. So, weeks into his stay at the compound, Steve approached Tony’s impending visit with a mix of dread and anticipation.

The Avengers were instructed to gather in the main briefing room with a few hours advanced warning, and it was pretty late in the evening to be holding a SHIELD meeting, so Steve had an inkling that Tony might be back. Steve had taken a pounding from Natasha on the sparring mat because he was having a hard time focusing, and then he had to defuse a tense situation between Fury and Wanda, since Fury wanted to remind Wanda yet again that she had to be on her best behavior if she wanted to stay. If Fury wasn’t such a hothead, Steve’s day would be a lot simpler.

Steve was the first one to show up to the meeting, so he sat and drummed his fingers against the tabletop. The surface was cold and unforgiving, which only reminded him of one of Tony’s workbenches, where he had laid Tony out once before. After that thought, his brain started helpfully supplying him with a cascade of images of Tony in various sexual positions, especially splayed out in his car during their last encounter. Steve could almost taste him again.

The door was pushed open, and Wanda walked in with Vision on her heels. Steve looked up and nodded at them in greeting, and quickly suppressed his memories of Tony for the time being.

Natasha walked in next, and gave Steve a knowing grin before rolling her eyes. So they _were_ gathering for Tony.

Fury walked in then, followed closely by Tony, wearing black slacks and an untucked pullover shirt. Tony’s eyes flitted around the room at everyone before settling on Steve. He stuck out his hand.

“Good to see you, Tony,” Steve said as he grasped Tony’s hand lightly. Steve watched as Tony’s fingers curled around his, and his skin hummed at the contact. It had only been weeks since he had seen Tony, and yet Steve’s body was already reacting to Tony’s touch. 

“Likewise, Cap.” Tony squeezed Steve’s hand hard, and shook it up and down twice. Then Tony let him go, and Steve bemoaned the loss of contact.

Sam walked in, and the meeting began. Tony wanted to know how the facility was holding up, whether anyone wanted tech upgrades, who was beating up on who, all the details. Steve tried to say as little as possible. One, because he wanted his team to feel that they could speak freely. Two, because he didn’t trust his own voice.

At one point, while Tony was making his normal lap around the room, he reached over and squeezed Steve’s shoulder. Steve couldn’t stop himself before he leaned into the touch. Tony moved on without skipping a beat, but Steve was sure he noticed. 

Thankfully the meeting didn’t go on too long and as soon as Tony adjourned, everyone filed out of the room. Everyone except Tony. Steve made no move to get up.

“Hey, Cap. You didn’t really say much. You doing okay?” Tony walked over to where Steve was sitting, and took a seat on the table, nearly right in front of him.

“‘Why are you always asking me that?” Steve hoped his voice came off as slightly teasing instead of accusatory. Judging by Tony’s smile, he didn’t miss the mark.

“Just watchin’ out for you.” Tony reached over to put his hand on Steve’s thigh, and Steve shuddered at the touch. Tony’s lips fell apart in surprise, but mercifully he didn’t laugh at Steve’s obvious reaction.

“Tony, I don’t think doing this here is such a great idea.”

“Doing what?” Tony asked, mock-innocent. Tony ran his hand up Steve’s thigh until his hand very nearly brushed Steve’s dick. Even through the denim, Steve could feel the heat of Tony’s palm and the weight of his hand and instead of satisfying Steve’s craving, the contact made it worse. 

“Have you been thinking about last time, in my car?” Tony asked, his voice pitched low. Steve groaned, not wanting to give Tony the satisfaction of an answer, but Steve knew that at this point, his answer didn’t matter much anyway. When Steve had the upper hand, it was easy for him to maintain control over himself and keep any emotions at bay. But in settings like this, when Tony figured out he had Steve over a barrel, Steve always got worried about losing control and showing too much. 

“So you did miss me?” Tony pressed. His hand moved up to briefly cup Steve’s dick through his jeans, and Steve jumped at the contact.

“Told you I would.” Steve fought to keep his voice steady as he answered. Steve couldn’t take his eyes off Tony’s hand as he pulled back.

“Well, is there somewhere more private we could go to catch up?” Tony hopped off the table, his voice sounding nonchalant. 

Steve knew what Tony was trying to insinuate. And for once, that wasn’t exactly what Steve had in mind. “Tony, I don’t need-”

“I owe you, remember?” Tony looked up at him, his eyes wide. Steve stared at him for a moment, feeling rather self-conscious. He guessed that if he asked for what he really wanted, Tony might just get up and walk out of the room. But Tony looked so open, a look that he rarely wore. Steve decided to roll the dice.

“Sure, Tony. But what I want right now isn’t… isn’t what you think.” Steve stood up, and he and Tony were mere inches apart. 

Tony raised his eyebrow, but didn’t interrupt. So Steve plowed on. 

“I want you to touch me.” Steve said it all in a rush, and then held his breath.

“On your dick? I think that’s exactly what I thought.” 

Steve huffed a laugh at that, and some of the tension seemed to leak out of the room. Steve felt slightly emboldened.

“No, I mean. Can you just lay with me?”

“Oh. _Oh._ ” Tony’s eyes softened, and he pressed his lips together in a way that made him look almost shy. Steve couldn’t have named the feeling blooming in his chest at the sight of Tony like that, so he chose to ignore it instead.

“Now?” Tony asked. 

If Steve didn’t know any better, he’d have sworn that Tony’s voice shook.

“If you’re not busy.” 

“Ya, okay.” Tony reached out and took Steve’s hand. Their fingers twined together easily, and Tony tugged Steve out of the room and down the hall to the elevators. Steve squeezed Tony’s hand, and relished the warmth emanating from him. 

Tony reached out to press the down button. Of course Tony would know what floor Steve’s apartment was on. The elevator dinged and Tony pulled Steve in, but Steve wasn’t really paying attention to much else besides the feel of Tony’s palm against his.

The elevator stopped on the living quarters floor, and Tony hauled Steve to his room. He keyed in the door code, and Steve should really not have been surprised considering Tony was the one who designed the whole building, and then he pushed Steve through the door.

Steve stood in the middle of his studio apartment, feeling awkward. His room was rather small, just a bit bigger than a barracks room. There was just a lamp, and a small desk, a dresser, a closet wardrobe, and the bed. Steve had never thought it was an inadequate space before, but now, with Tony standing there, it felt even smaller. If this had been just about sex, Steve would have known what to do; get Tony riled up and then see where that lead. But this was something different. 

“It’s rare to see Cap out of his element,” Tony commented.

Steve just shrugged. Lucky for him, Tony didn’t skip a beat. He tugged his shirt off his head and sat down on the bed.

“Take your shirt off, Cap, and come over here.”

Steve complied, and his skin prickled as his shirt dragged across his chest. Steve looked up to see Tony watching him, and Steve felt a little breathless. 

“Pants too,” Tony commanded. His tone didn’t leave room for argument. Steve unzipped his pants and nearly hissed as the fabric caught on his dick. He was not erect, but his dick was definitely interested in the way Tony was talking. That was not the focus this time, though.

Steve climbed into bed in his boxer briefs as Tony stood up to shed his pants.Steve laid down on his right side and started to feel anxious, but Tony hadn’t done anything to make him feel out of place. Tony just laid down on his right side in front of him, like this was totally normal. 

“Go ahead, Cap. Touch me.” Tony sounded hesitant, and his voice was so quiet Steve almost missed what he said.

Steve scooted forward until his knees slotted into the back of Tony’s knees, and his chest was against Tony’s back. He wrapped his arms around Tony, one arm slung over his chest and one arm pushed underneath Tony’s right shoulder. Steve felt Tony’s warmth slowly curl through his body and envelope him, and everything that Steve had been worried about started to melt away. Their pieces fit together in a way that felt natural, and a wonderful and foreign sense of calmness settled in his chest. Steve sighed against the back of Tony’s head, ruffling Tony’s hair with his breath. 

“That better, Cap?” Tony mumbled into the crook of Steve’s arm, chasing his breath with a soft kiss to Steve’s forearm. The brush of Tony’s lips against his skin set Steve’s whole arm ablaze with a pleasant tingling. Tony tensed up slightly and pulled into himself, as if he was holding his breath.

Steve pulled Tony tighter, suddenly worried that Tony might want to leave already. Maybe this was crossing some line Tony had drawn without Steve’s knowledge. Maybe this was just too intimate.

“I could fall asleep like this,” Steve said honestly. If he hadn’t crossed a line already, surely Steve was now. But he couldn’t resist testing Tony’s limits.

“That’s okay if you want to,” Tony replied slowly. He exhaled on the last word, and his body seemed to relax ever so slightly. Steve ran his left hand over Tony’s ribs, and Tony shuddered at his touch. It seemed that if they had a line, Steve hadn’t reached it yet. Tony relaxed further against Steve, and Steve couldn’t help but sigh in relief. He pressed his lips to the nape of Tony’s neck, and Tony shuddered again.

“Thank you, Tony,” Steve breathed out. Steve reached down to pull his comforter over both of them, and closed his eyes. 

A whispered “g’night, Steve,” was the last thing Steve remembered before he fell asleep.


End file.
